Guilty until proven innocent
by Stag01
Summary: Harry Potter has suffered in Azkaban for ten years, now he is finally free! What will he do to those that turned their back on him? Will he let them live?
1. Hell On Earth

__

This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

****

Chapter I - Hell on earth

Azkaban, prison to the wizarding world, keeper of the most evil men and women to ever grace the earth, home to some of the most evil and vile creatures ever encountered by mankind, a place where souls are taken, your worst fears used against you and bodies left to rot . Azkaban is the epitaph of hell, this hideous place located in the far north of the North Sea, cold and dismal conditions await any who are condemned to reside within it's dark and grimy walls.

Centuries of dirt, blood, sweat and tears coat every surface within the walls of Azkaban, the men and women condemned there are forced to live in cells only five foot by five foot. Most will never leave this place, but merely live the rest of their lives trapped with their own worst memories, reliving the worst times of their lives, over and over again.

The guards of this prison are among the most feared creatures in the wizarding world, creatures that can deal you a fate much worst than death. Tall, cloaked in black, hooded and no visible bodies these creatures have the power to invoke fear above anything else. A deathly cold is the first clue that you are in the presence of a Dementor, shortly followed by the sound of slow, rattling unearthly breaths and a sudden drop in light. You do not have long to notice this sudden drop in temperature or react to the sound of those rattling breaths before you are pulled within you own mind, back to the worst times of your life, reliving them again and again. There is only one chance of survival, to summon the happiest moment of your life, relive it, and chant the incantation _Expecto Potronum, _of course this is far easier said than done, and as for the prisoners of Azkaban they have no wand and therefore no hope 

The worst of the Dementor's weapons is far more gruesome than making their victims retreat to a life within their mind. Seconds before they use this terrible thing the victim will find that a Dementor does indeed have a body; a head of rotting, scabbed, decomposing flesh is lowered inch by inch towards the unwitting victim. No visible eyes or nose, only a mouth is what they see, but this mouth is not used for feeding on fruits or meats, no it is used for a far more terrible deed than that, for you see these creatures feed on the souls of humans, sucking it out through the very mouths of their victims.

But the prisoner of Azkaban are not administered the Dementor's kiss as it is so ironically named; no… they are forced to relieve their fears till the day they die. Most will die within a few months of being sent to this hell on earth, too weak to pull themselves out of their minds to feed on the scraps of stale food that are delivered every two days. Some however are forced to live year upon year wishing they where weaker, wishing that they could just curl up in the corner of their cells and die.

Screams constantly fill the air has your fellow prisoners are tormented day after day, sobs can be heard out of men that where at one time feared above all else, men and women can be heard begging for mercy, begging for the memories to stop, begging for a end to their pitiful lives. The air is thick with the smell of urine, faeces and the decomposing flesh of the not too recent dead. Thousands upon thousands of rats can be seen scurrying around feeding on the rotting bodies, their hunger for flesh so high that they bite the living in their sleep.

No light penetrates the walls of Azkaban, there are no windows or torches to light the claustrophobic cells, prisoners that are sentenced to life imprisonment will never again see light, never fell the warmth of the sun against their skin or the feel of grass beneath their feet. Never again will they be given the luxury of washing their faces, brushing their teeth or looking at themselves in the mirror. Forced to live in cells containing only a blanket and a hole in the floor for a toilet, thick steel doors hold them inside, doors that are only ever opened twice, once on the way in and once when they remove your heavily decomposed and partly eaten body.

This is what life is like in Azkaban, many wizards and witches argue that this is what these evil men and women deserve, maybe so, but what of the innocent, those that do not deserve to be there, those that did not commit the crimes for which they where sentenced, those that where sentenced without trial by a corrupt government, those that know they are innocent. Do they not deserve the right to normal lives like everybody else, do they not deserve the right to be set free, the right to be innocent until proven guilty.

This story is about one such person, a person who not only didn't commit the crimes for which he was condemned , not only sentenced by a corrupt government that didn't give him a trial, but this person lost everybody he held close to him in the process. People that he counted as friends, people that he counted as good as family, people he thought he could trust. He would have walked to the end of the world and back for these people, believed in their innocence even if the evidenced pointed against it, hell he would have jumped in front of the killing curse for any one of them.

So how then did these people repay him for all the years that he had shown them unwavering loyalty? How did they repay him for trusting them with his innermost secrets, for being their when they needed him the most, for being the shoulder to cry on, for loving them like they where part of his family, the only family he had ever known? Did they show him the loyalty that he had shown them, stand up for him in his time of need, believe in his innocence when he needed them the most? No they did not, they turned their backs on him when he needed them more than anything, distanced themselves as far away from him as possible, believed in his guilt.

Never will he forget that day for the rest of his life, how could he with these monsters standing mere inches on the other side of that steel door, the door that shut him off from the world in which he really belonged. The looks on their faces when the evidenced had been recited had been played so many times in his head for the first two years that he will never again forget them.

This person however was different from all of the other people in Azkaban, this was Harry Potter, the boy who lived, savour of the wizarding world at the age of one, the person prophesied to be the only person to be able to defeat the dark lord Voldemort. How then could a mere Dementor drive him to insanity? They couldn't. In the first two years he had come close, but he had always known in his innocence. Dementor's that feed on feelings could not take that away from him, for it was not a feeling, it was a fact.

He was a powerful wizard, very powerful, his power has grown to almost unimaginable levels over the years that he has spent in this earthbound hell. He had been but a mere sixteen year old boy when they had sentenced him to this unholy existence, he had been powerful then but now he was a fully grown man, twenty six years of age and his magical powers had grown a great deal.

Harry Potter could be found at this point in time sitting in the corner of one of the most heavily guarded cells, staring at that metal door that was keeping him from the world that he deserved to be in. He was thin, deathly thin from the severe lack of food that the prisoners are fed and his skin was pale from lack of sun. If one was to observe him from the outside of the cell then they could believe that he was dead, he sat perfectly still, unmoving for hours at a time, staring at the same point of the door all the time. His eyes however where more alive than anybody could imagine after ten years in that small space, but they where, his emerald green eyes shone brightly and showed that although he may have been physically drained over the years that his psychological state was near on perfect.

Nobody would be able to tell but Harry Potter was listening at the moment, he had just heard something that was about to make his day. He had heard a voice, a voice that he recognized from all those years ago when he was free, and it was getting closer. He had been listening for the past twenty minutes as the owner of the voice had slowly made his way down the corridor checking on the prisoners and the security of the prison. He was talking to the prisoners, but the only answers that he would get from people here would be screams or muffled sobs. He was patronizing them, asking them how it felt to be punished for their crimes, bragging about how it was he that had brought their downfall. If Harry's hearing was correct then he was accompanied by at least six other, probably there for the his protection.

Finally he heard the footsteps stop outside of his cell, his gaze didn't falter however, he remained staring at that same place on the door. He could here the voices outside of the door going through the necessary paperwork before they would try to communicate with him.

"So who do we have next Kingsley?" came the voice of the reigning Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

"Harry James Potter, mental status unknown" came the curt reply.

"Well this should be good fun" Fudge replied with what sounded like a joyful tone of voice.

Suddenly the point in the door that Harry had been staring at slid to the side to reveal the face of Fudge smiling merrily at the inside of the cell. Harry's gaze still didn't falter, he wouldn't give them the chance to see him cower away from them.

"Ah, hello Potter, how are you enjoying your stay at are little hotel?" Fudge ask Harry his smile not faltering one bit. Harry didn't answer and it seemed that Fudge wasn't expecting him too as he carried of speaking without giving opportunity to answer. "All those time that you have given the Ministry hell and now you are here where you disserve to be, rotting away like the rest of these villains" he said now changing his joyous voice for one of absolute loathing.

"Did you think that you could get away with it for ever just because you where Dumbledore's favourite?" he continued in that same harsh tone "Well no your where you deserve to be! Come along now gentlemen we'll get no sense here"

He started to walk away thinking that the conversation was over, he froze in his place however when he heard a calm voice speak his voice from behind.

"Fudge, you know as well as I that I do not deserve to be here" said Harry as calmly has he could master. He could see by the look on Fudges face that he had been shocked to find that he could talk to him like normal.

"You are nothing but an arrogant, pompous excuse for a man Minister, jailing innocent men so that it will buy you points in the next election. Tell me Minister how much did Voldemort pay you to send me here?" Harry asked his voice getting louder and louder as he spoke.

Harry quite enjoyed watching the Minister and his men flinch and jump as he spoke the name Voldemort and the look of absolute shock on their faces that he had managed to keep his mind.

"I don't know what your talking about Potter, you where found guilty of your crimes" Fudge finally spat.

"You and I both know that I never received a trial" Harry replied with the same tone of voice as Fudge.

"Ridiculous, a trial was not needed we had all the evidence we required" Fudge blustered.

"I wonder Minister" Harry said now regaining I calm composure "how long I will remain here?"

"You where jailed for life Potter and that is how long you shall stay" Fudge said now regaining his joyous tone.

"Perhaps you misunderstand me Minister, I was merely wondering how long I shall decide to stay here" declared Harry in that same calm demeanour.

"Ha! Have you heard him men he really is insane, make sure you make I note! Come along we have quite a few more left to check". With that he slammed the opening on the door shut again and started to make his way to the next cell.

"Can you believe him, he thinks he can break out" he said to his men barely able to contain his laughter "he always was a bit of a trouble causer, even while he was at sch…"

The rest of his little speech was cut of by bang form behind them, all seven men span around quickly to see the door of Potters cell flying into the opposite wall, and their standing in the middle of the corridor was Harry Potter himself, standing tall and looking absolutely livid.

"G-Get h-him" Fudge managed to get out after about thirty seconds.

It was all over though as soon as it started, Potter through his hand up into the air and that his the last that Fudge and his men remember seeing until hours later they awoke, in the same corridor. Dementor's robes where scattered all around, they couldn't believe their eyes, it was supposed to be impossible to kill a Dementor. Stunned aurours where lying all over the floor where they had been stunned, and their was no sign of Potter anywhere. One fought was constantly running through the head of Minister Fudge _this is a gad darn disaster._


	2. Free at last

****

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

By Stag01

Chapter II - Free At Last

Air; it was real clean air. No stench of a week's old uneaten meal, rotting corpses, or faeces. This was the first thing that hit the severely weakened Harry Potter; his bid for freedom had taken a hell of a lot out of him. At last he was free, he could once again feel the heat of the sun upon his face, taste the delicious tastes of freshly cooked food, and wash in water that was clean of bodily fluids.

But the truth of the matter was that he wasn't free, not in the sense that he could walk down the street at any time he wanted. No, there was a long way to go before he would be able to clear his name, once again be truly free.

He sat on the top of a hill, he had been here before. The last time that he had been here it had been a joyous occasion, a time where he was surrounded by friends and loved ones. The last time he had been here was of course the time that he had gone to the Quidditch world cup with the Weasley family and Hermoine Granger.

Those where people that at one point he would have put his life over theirs, with no second to spare for thoughts, he would have took the killing curse for any of them. Now… now he looked at the Weasley household on the far horizon with something close to pity in his eyes, he wished he could just forget, forget that they had turned their back on him. But he couldn't, never again would he be able to look back at his time at Hogwarts and remember times when he truly happy, now he would look back and remember that these where the people that turned their back, left him alone to hear the screams of his dieing parents for the rest of his life, without hearing his side of the story.

He had sat there for a long time, he couldn't remember how long, watching the small figures of the Weasleys playing Quidditch on the field. He could just make out Ron in the goals and the small figure of Hermoine sat on the grass reading a book, some people never change he thought to himself.

It had only been six hours since his escape from Azkaban in the early hours of that morning, it wasn't until he was finally free that he realised he had nowhere to go. He had craved for some normalcy in his life and his first thought was of the Weasley's, the people that he had once counted as his family. He had no intention of making his presence known to any of them, no, he had just wanted to see people that where happy, the way that he could have been.

He would have to get moving soon, he didn't know where he was going to go, what he was going to do, or even how he was going to get something to eat when he would need it. He had planned nothing in his time in Azkaban, in the times that his mind was truly his own he could only think of the betrayal he had felt when the people he was looking at had turned their backs on him, well now was a time to think of such things.

He stood as he saw the distinct shape of an owl in the sky; he knew it was a Daily Prophet delivery owl bringing the Weasley's the news of his escape. For the first time in many years a true smile crossed his worn features and he chuckled ruefully as he imagined the looks on their faces when they read the front page.

It seemed he imagined for too long as he saw a lone figure of Molly Weasley come running out of the Weasley household and call her children from their game. He heard her scream for her children to get into the house and couldn't help but hear the definite note of panic that was held within her voice. Once on the floor I seemed that Molly informed the once time friends of Harry's escape.

He was transfixed to this, he kept telling himself that he must move and he must move quickly, but no matter what his body just wasn't listening to him. He had to see how they would react to the new, he had to see if they would jump in joy at finding out that their once time friend was once again free and among them. He was sadly mistaken if he thought that this might happen, the Weasley's demeanour at hearing the news had changed, it had changed to one of anger, hate and pure venom, at once Harry knew that this was directed towards him.

He watched as they started to look around as if fearing that he would appear at any second and kill them without second thought, Harry felt saddened that they would truly fear him. It was then that it happened, he locked eyes with the youngest Weasley male, Ron Weasley, and the closest thing to a best friend he had ever had. He saw the look of shock on his face that was shortly replaced by that of intense anger.

It was now that Harry snapped out of his thoughts and apparated away without second thought to where he was going. He had been seen, it really wasn't the most satisfying thing for a recently escaped convict, and he knew that the auros would soon be on their way. It wasn't until he landed that he realised where he was.

The Weasley family had never been rich, but what they had lacked for in money they had always had in love, they sometimes even loved people that didn't deserve to be loved.

* * *

Molly had woken up that morning at six o'clock as usual, she had always been an early riser, the morning was the best time of the day for her, and a time when in this otherwise full house she could get some peace and quite. She was in the process of making breakfast when the owl carrying the morning paper came in through the kitchen window, the news had not been good recently, attacks on muggles were now daily news, and tales of Voldemorts rising power were frequent. 

Today however she was in for the shock of her life, it had taken her a long time to get over the boys deception, but right in front of her, there written in black and white was the reminder of love she had misplaced.

****

Potter Escapes: Askaban guards destroyed

Harry Potter once known has 'the boy who lived' has escaped from Azkaban prison. The man who as spent ten years in the prison made his escape last night during a visit from the minister of magic himself. Details are sparse at the moment but it is widely believed that Potter had suffered no mental damage at the hands of the Dementor guards and was fully sane for the time that he was incarcerated.

"I have never seen anything like it" said a Auror who wished to keep their identity a secret "the minister stopped at Potter's cell to evaluate his mental condition, Potter said plain a day that he could escape anytime that he wanted, the minister said that he was delirious. That's when it happened we were walking away when the door was blown off, I turned around and saw Potter, and that's all I remember"

For those of you that are not aware of the story Potter was jailed ten years for…

Molly stopped reading there, she had just heard noises from outside of the house, voices that where shouting. Her heart dropped into her stomach at once; rushing over to the window she couldn't help but fear the worst, that Potter had gotten his hands on her children. Her heart lifted again has she realised that they were just playing Quidditch, they weren't usually up at this time in the morning so the boys must have really felt the urge to play.

But what if Potter is on his way she thought, she had hardly processed this thought before she was running out of the house towards the makeshift Quidditch pitch. She would not lose her children, not now, not to that person, the person she had spent ten years trying to forget about.

"GET DOWN HERE NOW!"

They looked on in shock as they heard their mother screaming, true it was not such an unusual thing, their mother was regularly heard shouting at someone, but never this early in the morning. They descended to the ground sending looks to each other, trying to figure out what they had done that had got their mother so riled up.

It wasn't until they landed on the ground that they noticed their mother wasn't angry, she looked panicked. Hermoine who had been sat quite a distance away was still walking towards the group at an accelerated pace, she would be there in a few seconds.

"Mum what's happen?" asked Ginny, the youngest Weasley child.

"Here" was Molly only reply has she thrust the paper towards her daughter.

"Oh my god!" where the only words that she could make out, Hermoine who had just arrived and was reading over her shoulder couldn't keep the look of complete and utter shock of her face. At the enquiring look from the males Ginny silently passed the paper over to Ron. She watched as he read, his face first showed shock at the revelations of the article, but that was soon replaced by anger, undiluted anger.

Ron couldn't believe it, he had thought that he would never have to hear that name again, and now here was the paper telling him that his once best friend was now out amongst decent people again. He threw the paper down in disgust, he could read no more, the more he read the more he would remember, and the more he would hate Harry Potter. Looking out towards the horizon he tried to imagine were Harry would go after escaping prison, what would you do after you had been imprisoned for ten years? That was when he saw him; there standing on the hill in the distance was the unmistakable figure of Harry Potter.

He thought he might be imagining things at first, he blinked just to make sure, but the figure was still there, staring down on them like some king of god watching over his creation. He just had time to replace his shocked expression with anger before the figure on the hill disappeared, gone in an instant.

"GET IN THE HOUSE NOW" he shouted to his family.

"Ron, what's wrong?" asked an obviously panicked Hermoine,

"He was here moine, he was here" he said pointing to the top of the hill where they had once taken the trip to the world cup.

* * *

Harry took in the site of the house in front of him; he had apparated away from the Weasley's so fast that he hadn't thought of where he was actually apparating too. It was amazing that he should end up in the place that he had always hated so much, that he ended up in a place that he hoped he would never again have to see. 

It was ironic that he arrived at number four Privet Drive, the home of his only remaining family.


End file.
